Skip to main content

Optibus makes it count in Japan's Akita City

Company's software will be used in redesign of city's public transportation network
By Adam Hill December 21, 2023 Read time: 1 min
Optibus will determine how many buses are required to run services efficiently (© Cowardlion | Dreamstime.com)

Akita City in Japan is to redesign its citywide public transportation network using Optibus' software.

The capital of the Akita prefecture, which has 300,000 residents, published the third edition of its policy vision for public transport in March 2021.

Optibus' digital planning and scheduling solution will be used to improve efficiency and optimise the redesign of route plans, timetables and vehicle counts.

The company says: "Network redesign and optimisation will also help Akita City to account for challenges when reimagining sustainability, including driver shortages and changes in ridership demand due to demographic changes such as a shrinking population and ageing society."

Using AI and optimisation algorithms, Optibus will also help determine how many vehicles are required to run services efficiently, based on Akita City’s operational standards and passenger demand, "resulting in a more effective network redesign and improved discussions with local bus operators".

The solution also allows the creation of multiple planning scenarios for the redesign which can be compared with one another.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Changing perceptions and going green with ITS
    May 26, 2022
    Entrants to the ITS (UK) Essay Award were asked to write about innovative application of ITS solutions to achieve decarbonisation goals. First-year apprentice Leora Wilson, who studies at Leeds College of Building as part of her apprenticeship with Mott MacDonald, won the competition with this entry…
  • Doha implements traffic control system
    November 21, 2012
    Expansion of ITS systems has accelerated in Qatar this year, with rapid deployment of a traffic control system in Doha. Less than 10 years from now an extensive system of ITS technology will be operating in Qatar, informing and directing users of the country’s roads. That can be stated with confidence for a number of reasons: the world’s richest country per capita will host the World Cup in 2022 and is understood to be planning to develop sophisticated systems of ITS for road safety and traffic managemen
  • Caltrans trials Xerox’s Passenger Detection System
    October 30, 2015
    Xerox’s Passenger Detection System has been trialled in California and compared with the state’s team of human counters giving some interesting results, as Colin Sowman discovers. Like others adopting high-occupancy and high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes for congestion management, Caltrans has faced challenges with compliance in what has been effectively an ‘honour system’ with drivers trusted to set their tags correctly or comply with the multi-passenger requirement.
  • Optibus moves into info with Trillium
    April 12, 2022
    Route and roster planner gets into passenger info management with SaaS firm buy